Proposals to build three new bridges across the River Orwell in Ipswich to help ease congestion in the town centre are set to be formally abandoned next week – leaving more than £8m spent with nothing to show for it.

Rising protectionism and slide in US-China ties fuel pessimism of chief executives, says PwCPessimism among chief executives has risen sharply in the past 12 months as the leaders of the world’s biggest companies have taken fright at rising protectionism and the deteriorating relationship between the US and China.The survey of chief executives conducted by the consultancy firm PwC to mark the start of the World Economic Forum in Davos showed a sixfold increase to 30% in the number of CEOs expecting global growth to slow during 2019. Continue reading...

Escalation of Trump’s trade war with China also a threat, says World Economic OutlookA no-deal Brexit and a sharper slowdown in China are the biggest risks to growth in the global economy in 2019, the International Monetary Fund has warned in its latest economic outlook.Amid already falling levels of growth in Europe, China and Japan, the IMF said an escalation of the trade war between Donald Trump and Beijing over the coming months and the UK tumbling out of the EU without a deal would force further downgrades in its forecasts for growth. Continue reading...

Country offers cheap labour and manufacturing expertise – with often limited oversight Revealed: Spice Girls T-shirts made in factory paying staff 35p an hourHow can a charity-backed T-shirt come from a dismal factory where staff are abused and do gruelling work for low pay?The Spice Girls and Comic Relief said they had checked the ethical sourcing credentials of Represent, the online retailer commissioned to make the T-shirts that have caused a furore, but it had subsequently changed manufacturer without their knowledge. Represent said it took “full responsibility” for problems identified by [...]

Struggling cafe chain says update will be given when talks with banks concludeShareholders in Patisserie Valerie have expressed frustration at a lack of information from the cake and cafe business, which is struggling for survival as it tries to secure support from its banks.The company, which operates 200 cafes and employs nearly 3,000 staff, has been seeking to extend a standstill agreement on its bank facilities. The agreement protects the business from action to recover debts and it officially expired at midnight on Friday. Continue reading...

Brent paid £500,000 to Bernard McGowan despite him failing the ‘fit and proper’ testA London council that banned a rogue landlord and then directly paid him more than £500,000 in housing benefit has called on the government to legislate to prevent local authorities from making similar payments in the future.The move by Brent came after the Guardian revealed the borough made repeated payments of taxpayers’ money to Bernard McGowan, who has a £30m property empire and failed the council’s “fit and proper” test in 2015. Continue reading...

CNIL found that company failed to offer users transparent information on data useThe French data protection watchdog CNIL has fined Google a record €50m (£44m) for failing to provide users with transparent and understandable information on its data use policies.For the first time, the company was fined using new terms laid out in the pan-European general data protection regulation. The maximum fine for large companies under the new law is 4% of annual turnover, meaning the theoretical maximum fine for Google is almost €4bn. Continue reading...

Firms use stealth tactics to offset rising costs and competition on the high streetMore than 200 different consumer products, from toilet roll to chocolate, have shrunk in size as manufacturers and retailers use stealth tactics to offset rising costs and increasing competition on the high street.According to figures from the Office for National Statistics, as many as 206 products were made smaller between September 2015 and June 2017 – more than double the number that increased in size. Continue reading...

Ken Griffin’s London purchase becomes most expensive home sold in the UK since 2011A billionaire US hedge fund manager has bought a Grade II*-listed Georgian mansion within sight of Buckingham Palace for almost £100m.Ken Griffin, the 152nd richest person in the world with an estimated $8.8bn (£6.8bn) fortune, purchased 3 Carlton Gardens, which overlooks the Mall and St James’s Park in central London, for £95m. Continue reading...

Court has already rejected one bail request from ex-Nissan boss, saying he is a flight risk Carlos Ghosn has vowed to remain in Japan in the unlikely event he is granted bail, even offering to wear an electronic ankle tag and hire security guards to track his every move as he awaits trial on financial misconduct charges.The former Nissan chairman has been in detention since he was first arrested on 19 November in a case that has rocked Japan’s car industry and cast doubt over the future of the carmaker’s alliance with Renault. Continue reading...

Takeaway ordering website’s boss leaves after investment drive that slowed growth The Just Eat chief executive, Peter Plumb, is stepping down with immediate effect, only 16 months after he joined the British takeaway ordering website and launched an investment drive that slowed earnings growth.Plumb, who joined from MoneySavingExpert.com on a base salary of £695,000, upgraded Just Eat’s technology and launched its own delivery service to address intensifying competition from Deliveroo and Uber Eats. Continue reading...

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